It Gets Darkest
by Nail Strafer
Summary: It was supposed to be a simple recon mission for James and the Star Fox team on Venom. But everything's gone wrong. Andross is still alive and has created his own military. Pigma betrays the team to Andross. Now James has been shot down, stranded on Venom, and he desperately needs a way off world. But it's not Andross' army he should be worried about..
1. Chapter 1 - Stranded

A/N: Slender Man and Star Fox might sound like a weird combination, but it makes a little bit of sense if you ask me. James McCloud vanished (and may have died) under mysterious circumstances shortly before Star Fox 64, and Slender Man usually makes his victims disappear under mysterious circumstances too. To me, it sounded like an interesting way to combine two unrelated series that I enjoy.

I did have some ideas for rewriting this as a pure Star Fox fanfic, but I started writing this story over six months ago and have only just recently gotten it to posting quality. It's rough trying to post fanfics when you have a job and a house to take care of. I would really like to just post this now and move onto other projects. Not to mention I think now is a good time to post the story with it being Halloween and all :) I hope you all enjoy the story as much as I did writing it.

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><p>Chapter 1 – Stranded<p>

"James! James! Incoming from the left!"

"I've got it! I've got it!"

Missile batteries sprout out of hatches on the mountains. They unleash a swarm of rockets on my Arwing and Peppy's. I fire up my boosters and fly as close as possible to the curving canyon walls, praying that the rockets crash into the rocks instead of me. Several explosions illuminate the dark valley behind me. Pebbles bounce off of my canopy, as I decide to risk a glance into one of my rearview mirrors. Good. I just see a lot of smoke and falling rock. No, wait! A missile flies out of the smoke straight towards me.

"Damn it!"

Slowing down to look back is all the missile needs to catch up. It gets alongside the right side of the Arwing and explodes in a bright flash of light. For a brief time I can't remember anything that happens. The bright light overwhelms me. I may have screamed out but I can't hear anything. All I remember is feeling a dull scraping sound along the right side of my ship. It's Peppy's voice that brings me back to reality.

"…James! You…okay? Saw…xplos…! …You…ok…?" Peppy's comm link image buzzes in and out of focus. I can barely hear him over the ringing in my ears.

"I'm here…I'm here!" To my deafened ears, I sound like I'm trying to speak underwater even though I'm yelling at the top of my lungs.

"James!" A quick flash of relief crosses Peppy's face, but it vanishes just as fast. At least my hearing is coming back. "That missile almost had your name on it. Listen, you scraped along the canyon wall. The right side of your Arwing is totally gone."

"What?!"

I look over to the side. Smoke and sparks spit out of the metallic stump that used to be my starboard wing. I look at it in disbelief. Hell, this whole day has been a nightmare. This was supposed to be just a simple scouting mission to Venom. But Pigma betrayed us, that mad man Andross was still alive here and knew we were coming, and pretty much anything else that could have gone wrong has gone wrong. I survived all of those things so far, but this might be the one that finally gets me.

I check over my Arwing's diagnostics on the monitors. Not good. Not having one of my wings isn't crippling. If you're good at manipulating the VTOL jets, Arwings are tough enough to fly back to base without both wings if needs be. But the missile did more than that. I can't see it from the cockpit, but the display tells me the armor on the right side of the ship got completely blown away, and the engine underneath got blasted full of shrapnel that got sucked in through the front intake. Now the engine putters along, leaving a trail of smoke as it struggles to keep me up in the air. That's going to be the kiss of death for this Arwing and probably me as well.

"Peppy…" I take a deep breath. "My engine is shot and I can't bail out. I'm going to have to set her down."

Peppy reacts as if he took a hit to the gut, but rapidly masks his feelings. I'm glad that Peppy thinks I'm as relaxed as I must look over the comms screen. As the leader of Star Fox, it's my duty to set the example of composed leader no matter what happens. Panic is the last thing you need in a battlefield. And panic infects those around you, if you let it get to you.

"James. You know what that means."

I solemnly nod. "Yes. Please, get out of here and tell General Pepper what happened…and tell Fox what happened to me."

"That's a tall order James, even from you."

Let me discuss this situation from a pragmatic point of view. I'd love for Peppy to help me. I really would. But Peppy would get killed or captured himself if he tried. I can't set down and then ride with Peppy in his ship. Arwings only seat the pilot and no one else. He could try to cover me from the air until I can secure transport but that would take too long. Andross' army is right on our tails. Peppy would just get shot down. There is nothing he can do to help me without sacrificing himself in the process.

"Just leave. I'm not done for yet. I'll figure something out once I'm on the ground."

I say those words but I don't believe them deep in my heart. I just want to give Peppy the hope that I can take care of myself, so he doesn't ignore my orders and stick around. It would be tragic if our friendship ends up killing him too. The best possible thing Peppy can do right now is leave, tell General Pepper what happened, and then maybe Pepper can send a rescue party. Meanwhile, I try to lay low until rescue arrives or I find a new way off planet. Either option has slim odds of success but at least it's assured one of us will survive.

Fortunately (or unfortunately), Peppy looks torn at first on the comm link but his eyes quickly narrow as he chooses his course of action.

"I understand James. I'll get back to Corneria as fast as I can. We'll be back for you. Just hang in there!" He gives me a little salute over the video monitor.

"Will do buddy." I return the salute and force a smile. "I'll start killing Venomians with my bare paws if that's want it takes. Now get of here! Hurry!"

Peppy ignites his afterburners as he flies off high up into the stormy sky. The light soon disappears into the black stormy clouds.

"It gets darkest…just before it goes completely pitch black." For some reason this ends up making me laugh. You're supposed to say 'just before dawn', but I feel like being ironic right now for some reason.

Getting close to death isn't all bad and in some ways it's liberating. It makes everything a lot simpler and clearer. You're free to focus all of your physical and mental energy on trying to stay alive, and that's exactly what I need. While I'm afraid of Fox growing up as an orphan, I'll need to put that out of my mind until I get to safety. I need to focus on trying to land for starters.

Fortunately, this is a good place to have a crash landing. Rolling hills of rusty desert sands cover most of the surrounding area, with the odd bit of scrub brush or rock here and there. If a Venomian patrol follows me this far I'll be easy pickings, but I'll worry about that once I'm on the ground. All I can do is work with what I've been given.

The lift generated by my remaining wing at least allows me to glide along in the air, despite the sputtering engine behind me. I hold the stick away from the direction of the remaining wing. This forces the Arwing to fly straight, despite the unbalanced wind resistance attempting to tug me in a circle. As the ground approaches, I engage whatever VTOL rockets I have remaining in the hopes that I can slow down into a relatively smooth landing.

The ground is now one hundred meters below. Then seventy…fifty…thirty…twenty…ten…five… I yank backwards on the stick, pushing the nose up just before I make impact. I only get a few seconds to look up at the stormy, dark sky. The rear engine bounces off of the ground, before the conical nose of my Arwing slams down into the sand. The ship starts to grind through the dust like a sled in snow. My chair barely moves and the restraints only gently press against my body. That means the G-Diffusers still work at least, since I'm not feeling the G-forces pressing against the ship. The Arwing scrapes to a stop. I let out a sigh of relief. That's the first step in my plan complete. But there's no time to rest. I've got to get out of here before Andross' forces spot the wreck from the air.

I reach behind my seat and pull out my emergency rucksack. It contains survival supplies including a basic medical kit, food and water that'll last me a few days, spare ammunition, a knife, and a basic tool kit. After looking over the contents I slip a blaster rifle out of a holster next to my chair. It's more or less a long rectangular metallic block with a pistol grip, butt stock, scope, and flashlight attached to it. A quick check shows I've got a full charge. Then I check my smaller blaster pistol attached to my hip. This also has a full charge. Everything is ship shape and ready to go.

I pop the canopy. A harsh wind immediately smacks me in the face with Venom's polluted air. The toxic stench hits me so hard that I feel like I've been physically struck in the face. I have to cover my face with one paw to cope. But after a couple seconds I recover and wave my pistol around outside. I'm threatening nothing but sand. I jump out of the Arwing, with the blaster rifle ready to shoot before my feet even touch the dirt Again, nothing. I didn't see anything on the ground while I was in the sky, but you never know with Venom. Almost no military intelligence exists on this planet. Plus, mash together Andross's pollution and experiments with the local wildlife and there's no telling what that toxic mix produces. For all I know there are giant mutant sand worms just underfoot, ready to swallow me whole. Real life is kind enough to not imitate my imagination.

I let the blaster rifle hang off of me by its strap, but then I stop. I'm about to leave my old girl behind. Even if time is of the essence, I figure it's best if I give my old Arwing a little send-off before I abandon her for good. So I turn around and pause to have one last look. She looks awful. Of course the missile ripped the wing off completely, but now there's dents and scratches all over the armor, and the nose is badly crushed from sliding along on the ground. Dust and grit obscure my name etched on the side. I'm so close to letting tears flow.

"Sorry gal, but Andross needs to think I'm dead."

I pull a small cylinder out of one of my pockets, adjust a timer on top, and then pull the pin. One deft toss lands the plasma grenade right inside the open cockpit. I'm already off and running though. After thirty seconds of sprinting, the Arwing explodes in a fireball behind me, sending black smoke up in the air. I don't stop to look. The fire and smoke will be a beacon to anyone in the general area.

A foreboding wind whips up and blasts the sand all around me as I keep running. I pull my trusty red neck scarf over my muzzle to cover it. It's a good thing I'm still wearing my trusty aviator sunglasses. Both the scarf and the glasses help to protect my face from grit. Too bad I can't do anything about these huge pointy ears though. They're magnets for the sand. I have to reach up and clean them out with my paws over and over again. At least the wind will erase the footprints I leave behind, so it'll be harder to track me.

My feet sink into the soft sand as I sprint over it. It's draining to run on since I have to drag my foot out of the sand with every step. It doesn't help that my gear's extra weight means I sink faster, so it's not long before I get tired. Back in my academy days I could do marathons no problem, but that was on Corneria with bright sunny weather and classmates cheering each other on. Doing it alone in a god-forsaken desert is quite another, especially when the polluted air is almost unbreathable. With every breath, I'm swallowing air that smells like it came from a sunbaked waste dump.

But still, the fear from Andross' inevitable pursuit pushes me onwards. Where I'm headed, I don't know. I could go left or right, but the entire time I just go straight. It's as good a direction as any, since I have no idea where I am on Venom right now. It's probably a stupid idea to just pick a direction at random, but on the battlefield it's usually better to just do _something_ rather than do nothing.

A few hours have passed now. I occasionally lift up the scarf and take delicate sips from my water bottles. There's no telling when I'll have access to another water source, so I need to conserve. My jogging slows down into a slow but steady walk. As for how long it stays steady, it may not be for much longer. Between the flight here, the actual mission, and my time on foot, I've been awake for the past twenty hours. My body cries out for me to lie down and sleep, but it's too dangerous out in the open desert. A passing Venomian ship could easily spot me from the air.

Still I trudge onwards, now moving zombie-like across the desert sands. It's as if my legs have become robotic limbs stuck in motion. My eyes shut for minutes at a time, even as I continually walk forward. With every step, I listen to the sounds of sand pushed aside. It's relaxing, like walking on soft snow. I close my eyes and get lulled into a walking sleep.

Imagine how shocking it is when I start hearing crunching beneath my boots instead. I stop and look down. I'm standing on a strip of hard-packed gravel in the middle of the sand. Power poles run along the strip to one side, with the cables swaying in the wind. I've found a roadway; a sign of civilization. Of course, the Venomian army probably built this road, but maybe it will lead me some place where I can get supplies and perhaps even a new ship.

But which way should I go? To the left or the right? I read somewhere that people tend to walk in the direction of their dominant paw. For me, that would be right. But my instincts have been all wrong today, so I decide I'll just go left. Again, I have no idea where I am on Venom, so one direction is just as good as any so far as I know. Either one beats standing still. I just hope I'm able to hear any vehicles approaching before they see me.

After about thirty minutes of walking, I spy a structure jutting out from the sand dunes lining the road. I'm still a long ways off, so I can't get a good look at what it is. At this distance, it looks like a big warehouse of some kind. It's no doubt enemy-occupied, so I get off the road and walk through the sand again. Adrenaline is a hell of a drug, and the prospect of potentially encountering hostiles wipes away my half-dead visage. As I get closer, I unstrap the rifle and start to crawl towards the top of the last sand dune before the structure.

What I see when I peek over the top gives me mixed feelings. A small complex spreads out in an empty field below. I notice the gigantic warehouse first, and realize that's what I spotted from the road. An empty concrete landing pad sprawls out in front of it, so it must be a hangar. My heart rate rises a bit, but I stop to look at the other structures first. Also flanking the landing pad is an entrance to an underground bunker, and a two-story building that looks like a small command center. So this is an outpost of some kind.

But something looks wrong. I don't see a single sign of life. No people walk around outside, and no lights are on outside or in any of the buildings. If this outpost was abandoned, it happened very recently and suddenly. Everything appears to be in pristine condition and I don't see any signs of conflict: no blaster marks, no fires, no broken walls, absolutely nothing. It's as if there were people here just minutes or hours ago, and then they all went 'poof' and disappeared into thin air. What would cause the soldiers to suddenly abandon the outpost?

I wonder if it's a trap, but why would Andross go to the trouble of setting a trap? If he knew where I was going, he could have just sent a gunship to mow me down. There would be nowhere to hide from it out there. Why not just do that? Andross may be a mad scientist, but he's also pragmatic like that.

So it's not a trap, why else would this place be empty? I continue to lay prone on the top of the hill, paralyzed by that question. Eventually I decide that I'll wait here for an hour and just observe the place. Maybe I'll see if there's anyone still around before the time is up. So I set the timer on my wristwatch, and settle down to wait. Near the command building, there's a pole with a flag bearing Andross' ugly face. The flag whips around in the wind, but there's no other movement for the duration of the hour.

My wristwatch vibrates, signaling that the hour has passed. After turning it off, I still don't feel safe going down there. But what else am I going to do? I can't stay here forever. And going back into the desert could be suicide. I'll be out of drinkable water in just a couple days at the rate I'm going. I have no idea when I'll get another chance like this to steal supplies. Potentially getting shot sounds better than slowly dying of thirst, at least.

I circle around the outpost on top of my dune, and then quickly descend down the dune next to the hangar. The dunes on one side and the hangar on the other should help keep me out of sight. Now I'm going to walk around to the back of the hangar and see if there's a safe way I can slip inside there. As I reach the corner around the back of the hangar, I start to hear a loud creaking sound.

When I risk a peek, it turns out to just be the back door swinging back and forth in the heavy wind. Seeing no one around, I rush for the doorway. I am now grateful that the sand and the wind muffle my footsteps. Inside the door, I see nothing but complete darkness. Going into a pitch black room without knowing what's in there is terrifying, but I need to find out if they have transport in here. I didn't see any vehicles outside.

Taking a deep breath, I jump inside and quickly move away from the door, so that I'm not silhouetted against the light coming in from outside. I accidentally knock over an empty fuel can with my elbow and send the container clattering to the floor. The sound echoes through the darkness. I freeze in place. But aside from the sound of my own labored breathing I hear nothing else. I feel completely alone here. It's funny. Before, I would have considered that a good thing. But the longer I'm alone in this place, the more I wish to find a sign of life, even if it's the enemy. Being shot at would actually be a relief by this point.

At least I think I'm safe and alone in here for the time being. I gratefully pull the red scarf off of my muzzle. It helped a lot in keeping the grit out of my face, but the cloth made it harder to breathe too. I turn on the blaster rifle's flashlight and quickly sweep the hangar with me. Shelves, barrels, repair benches, and those sorts of things show up in the light's beam. Off in the center of the space I see the outline of an aircraft. Could this be my ticket out of here? Grinning, I rush over and shine my light on the ship. As I get a better look, the smile quickly fades away.

I don't think I've ever seen a ship like this before. It's painted white with a black underside. There's a single tall tail-fin and broad delta-shaped wings on the sides of the tube-shaped body. It looks very primitive, like something that should be in a museum. And what's this written on the side of the ship? I focus in my flashlight.

_United States – Expedition_


	2. Chapter 2 - Searching

Chapter 2 – Searching

I stare at these strange words on the side of this ship. What's the United States? A federation of planets? The flag painted next to the writing shows red and white stripes, with a blue square containing white stars. I've never seen any flag like it before. I continue to sweep my flashlight over the craft. Up front I see a doorway open into the cockpit.

As I climb inside the cockpit and look around, I know for sure I'm inside a real relic here. Most Lylatian spaceships are advanced and streamlined enough to have most of their features condensed into a small set of cockpit controls. All you really get anymore is the flight stick itself, some monitors and touch screens for more advanced functions, and a set of levers and buttons for basic things like lights or the radio. It's not that much more complicated than a car. In fact it's not unusual for people to get their pilot's license before their driver's license.

Buttons completely cover the inside of this old girl however. Except for two seats, the foot wells, the back door, and the front window, every single surface is covered with a button or switch of some type. What monitors there are look very small and primitive. It's like whoever built this was building a spaceship for the very first time and he didn't have anything else for reference. Admirable, but very primitive. If I have a little time I think I can figure out how to at least get it off the ground. That's assuming this thing is still spaceworthy though. So for now I should probably check out the engine bay in the back.

I climb over one of the consoles to go through a doorway behind the cockpit seats, and into a small living area. There's a cot, a chair with a bookshelf and a TV, a bathroom with toilet and shower, a closet and storage area, and a kitchenette. Everything appears as a dirty gray. The surfaces look like they would have gleamed solid white when brand new, but dust and scrape marks cover everything, indicating years of hard use. I have to slightly lean forward to walk through the cabin due to the low ceiling. This feels claustrophobic, so I move to the back of the ship as quick as I can.

I step through another small door at the end, and in front of me I see a complicated machine that looks like the back of an engine. Off to either side are holes labelled "Power Cells". So, I guess these are what this ship uses for fuel. I notice three of the holes are not filled in. Frowning, my flashlight comes across a warning sign next to the holes:

_ALL POWER CELL SLOTS MUST BE FULL BEFORE SHUTTLE WILL START_

I let out a long sigh but I'm not surprised. If this shuttle were ready to go, that would be too easy wouldn't it? So now I need to find these power cells. The ones that are there don't look like any kind of power unit we have in our own spacecraft though. I just pray that there's still some close by. I don't know if I'm still being followed or if there's anyone else at the outpost with me. Still, this shuttle looks like a good place to leave my stuff while I go exploring. Gratefully I put down my rucksack, letting it land with a thunk on the floor as I retain my rifle and pistol. It feels really good rubbing the spots where the shoulder straps dug into my shoulder. Meanwhile I take a good look at the power cells already here, and memorize what they look like.

Once I've got that in memory, I make my way back out of the shuttle, removing the rifle's attached flashlight as I go. My first thought is to search the hangar for the cells. Logic dictates you'd store spaceship fuel in the same place as the spaceship, right? So I get to work, skimming the dusty shelves and rummaging through whatever containers I find. The task is more stressful than you think it would be. I wince every time I accidentally knock something over or make a racket while rummaging through a box. Every time I hear a sound outside over the wind, I turn off the flashlight, wait for a few moments to see if I hear the noise again, and then turn the light back on. Working with only a flashlight makes it hard to tell if I'm searching thoroughly enough. My progress is slow and tedious, and I would be sweating now if my species had that ability. What sick bastard decided to give me fur but not let me sweat? After rummaging through a box next to a workbench, my paw extracts the hexagonal-tube shape of one of the metallic power cells. I allow myself a little triumphant laugh.

"Finally!"

Since I don't want to carry it around with me, I quickly go back to the shuttle and shove it home. A green light ignites above the recess. I guess that's a good thing, since all the cells already there show green as well. One down, two to go. Two more… The smile vanishes again.

As I walk back out, I look at the controls in the cockpit. It might be a good idea to get myself familiar with them now, since I may need to leave in a hurry later. Slipping into the chair, I begin noting which sections of controls control which parts. It's complicated and old-fashioned compared to a modern Lylatian ship, but whoever designed this at least had the common sense to group related controls together. Flightstick…thruster controls…wing flaps…status screens. The layout is strange, but flying for over two decades helps me to get familiar with them rather quickly. After about ten minutes of examining everything, I feel like I can at least get her off the ground once the time comes.

After I get back out, I look through the hangar again. I've been in here for over an hour now, and it's my fourth time searching through the building. Eventually I become convinced that there are no more cells in the hangar, so I'll have to check the other parts of the outpost. That would be the command center or the bunker. I decide to go to the command center first since its closer.

Stepping out through the back door, I creep along the back and side of the hangar, sticking close to the wall. I reach the left-front corner of the structure, glancing out from behind cover to see the command building. Nothing has changed outside, but I've got to cross that big open landing pad to get in there. I'll be completely exposed. My eyes scan the sand dunes surrounding the outpost. If there's anybody out there, I'll be in plain view. A sniper could easily take my head off. It would be in a million pieces before I knew what happened. I still haven't seen anyone out here, but this loneliness is really getting to me now. Still, I'm not going to find any more power cells if I stay here. I psych myself up, tense my leg muscles, and kick off the ground, running as fast as I can across the pavement. The clomp clomp clomp of my boots on the ground along with my ragged breathing fill my ears. At last, I reach the front door of the building. I'm still alive...for now.

I take a peek through the window next to the front door. All I can make out in the darkness is the vague shape of a desk with a monitor on it. Considering the monitor is turned off, I don't think anyone is waiting in there. Nonetheless, I slowly crack open the front door, pointing my blaster pistol in first in case someone is hiding. However, the room is still exactly as I saw from outside.

I toggle the light switch nearby. The room remains dark, only illuminated by what little light filters in through the windows. But that's fine with me, considering no power also may mean no security system. I spot a camera in the corner of the room, but I see that it has a red light on it that's not illuminated. It's probably turned off then. In any case, I need to find the other power cells so I can get off this forsaken rock.

I'm about to step down a nearby hallway when I spot a sheet of paper taped to the front of the monitor. I step around to look at it. "HELP ME" is written across an entire piece of notebook paper in giant, scribbled letters. The handwriting is so deformed it looks like it was done by a young child who just learned to write. What is this doing here? I see something drawn in the bottom left corner of the page, so I take the paper off the monitor to get a better look. It's…a stick figure? It looks like a harmless school kid's drawing, but it unsettles me for some reason.

What is this sheet doing here? Shaking my head, I put it back down on the desk. The sheet is not important. I just need to find those power cells— I spin around, waving my blaster at the window. However, I see nothing outside, except for the hangar I just came from. Except… I could have sworn I saw someone standing outside, just in the corner of my eye. I should probably be getting a move on, but I'm frozen in place. My gun doesn't waver. My feet don't move. My eyes don't blink. Many living creatures tend to freeze when confronted by danger, so that they are not detected via motion. The body can do this by reflex. So, why are my primeval instincts urging me to stand as still as a rock? I don't see anything outside.

Eventually, I lower my weapon. After taking one last look, I walk down the dark hallway, past the desk. Feeling like I'll regret this, I reattach the flashlight to my rifle and turn it on. The place isn't much to look at. Plain tiled floor, with cheap white paint on all of the walls. However, the size of this building fills me with much dread. Where do I even start looking for a power cell, assuming it's even here? I decide I'll just try every unlocked room until I get lucky. I've got nothing else to go on.

The first door leads into a little break room, and there's still a half-eaten sandwich on the table. It's even got some slices of meat and cheese on it. I think about who was probably eating it before, but… Well, who cares if I pick up some monkey germs? I'm starving. I snatch the sandwich off the table and scarf it down in two bites. After wiping the saliva off my mouth, a disturbing thought occurs to me. The sandwich I just ate tasted fresh, like it was made only a couple hours ago at most. Whoever was eating this was here only just recently, and then ran off. What would cause someone to do that? I quickly raid the fridge for whatever other foods I can find, scarfing down whatever is there and guzzling the bottled water I find. I go to the sink to refill the bottles, but no water appears to be coming out. Strange.

I turn my gaze back towards the window and look outside. I can't shake this feeling that someone's out there, watching me. But I can't see anyone as I scan my eyes across the view. Wait. The hangar. I see a black silhouette standing just behind the corner of the building. But before I can get a good look, swirling sand obscures the figure. When the wind dies down the spot is empty. Did I actually see that? I don't know. Maybe I should just hurry up and see if there are any cells here. The emptiness of this place is creeping me out.

I leave the kitchen, tiptoeing down the hallway as I listen for the sounds of anybody still around. I look through open doorways and stop to press an ear against closed ones. So far as I can tell, I've got this place to myself. I guess there's no more need to worry about noise. I go into a supply room and immediately dump the contents of all the boxes on the floor. I dig my paws through the mess, but don't find anything. I go into an office, and rip open every drawer and file cabinet I can find but it's nothing but meaningless papers. I find an ammunition room, a bathroom, a meeting room, and so on and so forth. I rifle through every cabinet, container, and box I can find. Nothing yields the power cells I desperately need. I chew my lip, wondering if I'm on a fruitless errand here.

So since I've searched every room on the ground floor at this point, I rush up the stairs, taking them three at a time. More rooms. A bunk room, a briefing room, another office. Still no power cell. The last door reveals a communications room with a window showing a view of the hangar and landing pad. Even though the power is out in the rest of the building, the machines here are still running. Maybe they're on emergency power? Despite my desperate search, I find myself immensely curious. If I check the terminals I can look at records of this outpost's communications. I can find out if they've sent out an alert signal or when this place was last occupied.

I run over to the main terminal and flip on one of the screens. It's locked with a password. Frowning, I feel a paw underneath the desk's surface. I detect a sheet of paper stuck to the underside of the desk with tape. In spite of the situation, I can't help but smile. Stupid monkeys. If you want to write down your password, don't hide it in such an obvious spot. I rip the paper out from under the desk and look at it. The smile slips away. "DON'T LOOK…OR IT TAKES YOU." It's written in the same scrawled style as the last note. What the hell does this mean? I feel a tingling on the back of my neck, like finger tips are barely touching the fur there. But when I look around, no one's behind me. Still, it takes an effort to look back at the paper. In the corner is written "password: c34s4r". I was right about the password being hidden there at least. After putting in the password, I quickly find my way to the communication log. The last communication from here went out an hour or two ago, to the central command center I'd tried to blow up with Peppy and Pigma hours ago.

I growl a little bit as I think about Pigma. He looked so goddamn smug on the comm screen when he said he betrayed us for a mountain of cash. He's probably sitting in Andross's palace or something, stuffing himself silly. What I wouldn't give to shoot him in the back of the head right now. No, that's far too kind for him. I think I'd rather lock him in a pitch black, airtight room with no food and no water, and just let him starve there until he dies.

Nonetheless, I think it's quite bizarre how there haven't been any communications in the last hour, even though I thought I saw someone out there. Is he still there? I take a little peek out the window. There. I see a man wearing black standing in the open, not even bothering to hide. But the black clothes are not a combat uniform. He's wearing a business suit with a white shirt and black tie. Long, narrow arms hang down below his knees. In contrast to the black suit, his head gleams pale white. It's like a bleached white skull sitting in the moonlight. And he's looking right at me. But why is he just standing there?

I feel a splitting headache. It's like someone reached through my skull, jammed his paws between the two halves of my brain, and started pulling them apart. I can't do anything except close my eyes, grit my teeth, and claw at my head as if to brush away the invisible paws. But almost as soon as my eyes shut, the pain passes. Why did that happen? I look outside, but the man in black is gone again. But to where? I scan everything I can see from the window, but there's no trace of him. I only looked away for a few seconds at most, and yet he would have to run at least a hundred meters in any direction to get to a hiding spot. There's no way he had enough time to do that without me seeing him. It's like he teleported.

That note said 'don't look or it takes you'… Is that what the writing was talking about? I'm guessing from the note that the business suit man doesn't work for Andross. Why did the note call him an 'it'? I've dealt fine so far with being on the run from an army, but now I've got no idea what the hell I'm up against. I sit frozen at the window, unsure of what I should do. How the hell did the man in black get out of sight so fast? I turn around back to the room and _he's standing behind me_. My eyes see, but my brain cannot process. It's impossible he is standing here, but he's still here all the same. He towers above me with his height, his skull head almost touching the ceiling. Being this close and looking him straight in the face, I realize he has no face at all. It's nothing but a blank white surface. But I can only look for a second. The headache strikes me again with a hundred times more fury because of his proximity. One of his long spindly arms reaches out to me. I shut my eyes and scream, holding down the trigger of my rifle even as I crash backwards to the floor. I can't hear anything over the blaster bolts and my own shouting.

After a few seconds the rifle's battery empties. There's no sound except for the hiss of cooling burn marks on whatever I shot. But I'm still alive. I can still feel the rifle in my paws, the cool tiled floor underneath my back. But I don't want to open my eyes. Eventually I work up the nerve and slowly open my right eye. No one's there. All I see is a tightly concentrated mass of blaster marks on the upper wall and ceiling, roughly where the man's chest and head were. He did it again. He teleported. What the hell have I gotten myself into? I lay frozen on the floor for a few moments, not knowing what to do. That…thing…was reaching for me. What did it want? What was it going to do to me?

Slowly, I pull a fresh battery out of my pocket and slap it into the laser rifle. I keep my eyes and rifle pointed at the open door into the room as I get up off of the floor. Why did he leave me alone while I was vulnerable? Maybe I hit him and he retreated to recover from the injury. But I don't see a blood trail or anything on the floor. It's like I shot at something I only imagined. But then I look at the desk I was just sitting at. The "DON'T LOOK" note with the password is still there. I pick up the paper and look at it again, with the scrawled writing. _No, you're not going crazy, _the paper seems to say to me. _It's much worse than that. This is real. 'It' is real._ I can't stand looking at it anymore. My paws tear the paper to bits, letting the shreds fall to the floor. I watch them tumble to the tiled floor. I thought this little act of defiance would make me feel better, but it doesn't. Instead I feel like a scared little kid instead, like one who is hiding under his sheets at night because of imaginary monsters under the bed.

It's then that I notice an open cabinet next to where I let the shreds fall. Did I accidentally kick it open when I fell? It wasn't open before. Inside, I can just make out the hexagonal shape of another power cell. I would be happy, but seeing that man and then seeing that piece of paper again has shaken me to the core. Facing Venomians would be a joy at this point. At least I know what to expect from them. But I have no idea when that man in black will show up again, or what he'll do to me if he catches me.

As I slip the cell into one of my pockets, I think about scouring the building again for the last cell in case I missed it in my first sweep. But for some reason I don't think I'll find it here. Even though I'm terrified, I think I've spotted a pattern now. I'm looking for three cells, and there are three buildings: the hangar, the command center, and the bunker. I found one cell in the hangar, and one in the office building. So logically, the last one has to be underground in the bunker. Or at least…it would be logical if this were some kind of game.

Why am I even thinking all of this? It's definitely no game. Or is it? Am I inside a game and I just don't know it yet? Like the thing I saw is playing a game with me? Like he intentionally scattered the cells around the outpost for me to find? Did he let me go so the game could continue? But if that's true, why is he doing all of this? I wonder if I should just leave the outpost and take my chances out in the desert. I shake my head. This thing that's chasing me has shown me it can teleport. I bet if I try to walk out of here, he'll just teleport to wherever I'm going and wait for me.

In any case, it's not doing me any good staying here, no matter how afraid I am. I slowly walk down the hallway, pointing my laser rifle in every open doorway I see. The strange man in black is nowhere to be found. But I feel like he's close. Very close. Even if there are no visible hazards, every single move I make is carefully considered, and slowly taken. Every single step. Every movement of the blaster. After what feels like years, I reach the stairs and very carefully descend. Eventually I see the door leading out of the building. No one's in the little reception room before the door, so I break out into a run and slam through it.

Now I'm standing outside in the open. While I was afraid of the open space before, it feels like a relief after being inside the small hallways of that building. Inside the man in black could easily sneak up on me. Not so out here. Or at least, I hope not. Suddenly I have gained an extreme fear of looking behind myself. It takes a surprising amount of effort to look back, but no one's there.

I think now I'll check the last place I haven't visited yet: the underground bunker. Bet it's dark and confined down there. That man could easily sneak up on me if he wanted to. But what can I do? Until I get all of the cells I'm not going anywhere.

I jog across the landing pad towards the bunker on the other side. Even though I looked back only a couple seconds ago, I take a second look. _He's back. _I raise my rifle, but the splitting headache from looking at him interrupts my aim. My laser blasts go flying all over the place, everywhere except for the man. As soon as I turn away the headache vanishes, but it keeps coming back every time I try to turn and shoot. Eventually I decide to just run like hell for the bunker door. I jump over the five steps leading down to the door, throw it open, and then slam it shut behind me. And now I have been completely swallowed up by darkness. I frantically fumble in the dark for a lock, and my paw finds a bar on the floor. After picking it up, I slam it into the bar's holders on the door, sealing the door from the outside. I don't know if it'll help though… Can the man in black teleport through sealed doors?

Even if I have locked him outside, I will still have to come out this very same door. He could just wait outside for me. But either way, standing here looking at this door isn't going to accomplish anything. If the man is still waiting for me outside, then I'll just have to deal with that when the time comes. Turning on my flashlight, I look at the door one last time, before turning away and walking down a dank, concrete hallway. Pipes and cables run along the top of the corridor, supported by brackets and cables. I see ceiling lights every so often, but none of them work. It takes some courage to move further and further from the entrance like this, even without the man in black. If my flashlight goes out I won't have any light at all. I could be lost in the dark for who knows how long if that happens.

The concrete corridor ends at a T-junction. While this place is pitch black, at least the Venomians have adequate signage. I see the following on the sign at the junction:

_Armory_

_Prison, Emergency Storage_

Arrows indicate the armory is to the left, and the prison and emergency storage are to the right. So, which place should I go to first? I doubt bigger guns will help against the tall man. Visiting a prison in a place like this… I can't imagine what it would look like. Regular prisons are already bad enough. But that emergency storage… That sounds like a place where you'd keep things like stores of food, water…and fuel. Going right it is then. I keep walking along, my footsteps echoing back to me off of the walls. The tall man still hasn't shown up yet. I'm wondering if I actually did manage to lock him outside. Or is he just trying to lull me into complacency, before he strikes again?

Suddenly I stop walking. Is it my imagination, or do I hear the sound of a power generator down here? I switch off my light and stand completely still. Man. You don't know what true darkness is until you're underground and you have absolutely no light. I can't even see my paw when it's an inch from my face. I force myself to stand still and listen for the generator. Several seconds pass, with no sound except the steady drip, drip, drip of a leaking pipe. My triangle-shaped ears rotate like little radar dishes, trying to pick up the sound. I start to wonder if it's my imagination but—

There. I can vaguely hear the droning sound of a generator up ahead. It must be a smaller, portable one because I can barely hear it. The sound is echoing from the same direction I'm going. Do I keep going this way? I feel rooted to the spot, like when I first entered this bunker. Of course, maybe I could double back and just check the armory first. Maybe I'll get lucky and the power cell will be there. I turn my flashlight back on and start to turn around—and find myself face to face with _him_ again. Somehow, and I'm not sure how, I maintain enough sense to immediately turn back around and run like hell. An open doorway approaches.

Just as before I jump through it and slam it closed behind me, again putting the bar in place. I level my blaster at the door, for all the good it will do. Old habits die hard. As before, the man doesn't try to get inside. Like it matters. This man could probably do whatever he likes to me any time he wants, but he doesn't. Come to think of it, I realize I actually don't know what that white-headed man wants. Aside from scaring the living daylights out of me, he hasn't done much of anything to me.

I briefly wonder if perhaps I'm being a little too rash, but what sort of man can teleport and pass through locked doors like they're not there? What sort of man follows you around and watches you like this? What sort of man is nine feet tall and has no face? Again, I wonder if this is just some big game I'm trapped inside. Or maybe it's a sick experiment. Maybe instead of just killing me outright, Andross wants to drive me insane before he finally kills me. Maybe I've actually been captured and he's got me hooked up to a crazy virtual reality simulation.

"Uhhhh…"

I spin around, waving my blaster at the corridor behind me. I forgot about the generator I heard before. But then I see something I haven't seen in a while: another light source. Down the hallway, I see a door with a barred window, casting an orange glow on the wall opposite. What do I do? I can't go back, but I don't know what's in front of me. But unlike the man, whoever is in there made a sound. And they're using a light and they have a generator. Could it be someone normal like me? Sure they might be Venomian but at this point I wouldn't mind having Pigma or Andross himself for company.

"Hello! Is someone in there?!" I call out down the hallway.

"Wh-who's that?" A gruff voice calls back. He sounds tired and exhausted.

"Are you Venomian?" I walk down the hallway at a brisk pace towards that beacon of light.

"Veno-wha? What are you talking about?"

"Is it all right if I come in?" I've reached the door, but the window is too high for me to look through.

"I'm not going to let you in. It's too dangerous."

"Why not? It's pretty dangerous out here too!" I try to open the door, but it's barred from the other side. "There's this tall man in black, and he's after me!"

"With a white head?"

"Yes!"

The man on the other side is silent for a moment. I hear someone walking towards the door. A bar clangs to the floor.

"Gotta warn you. I don't look like your kind. Don't be freaked out when you see me."

"You don't look like—?"

The door opens before I can finish saying it. A man stands in the doorway, towering over me. But he looks like no other Lylatian I've ever seen. In spite of the man in black chasing me, I can't help but stare. This stranger looks like a giant hairless ape with white-tannish skin. He has no fur except for the brown fur on his eyebrows and head. Blue, soulless eyes stare down into mine. But it's not because he's evil. It's more like his soul has been taken from him. He wears orange pants and a T-shirt, both of which are covered with sweat, dirt, and blood. What the hell is he? I've never seen another person of this species.


	3. Chapter 3 - Stranger

Chapter 3 – Stranger

I hesitate, not knowing if I should trust this strange man. Sighing, the man grabs me by my white flight jacket and pulls me in, as he slams the door shut and puts the bar back in place. I take a moment to look around the room. It's the prison. I've been pulled into an ante room before the prison proper. A small workstation sits off to one side, and behind it stands a heavy barred door leading into the detention block. The light shines from a small desk lamp on the table. In the meantime, the man sits in the rolling office chair behind the desk, and he waves for me to sit in a wooden chair on the desk's other side. Empty water bottles and food wrappers cover the table and much of the floor for that matter. I can hear that generator running inside the prison block, so I guess this man has been staying here for a while.

The hairless ape slouches as he leans back in his chair. "So…you've seen him too then, like me." He speaks as though he's only talking about the weather.

That kind of casual attitude would normally creep me out, but I'm desperate to find out more about my chaser. "You know him? The man in black?" I lean forward, eager for any information he can give me.

"He's called the Slender Man." He accents the 'A' in 'man' with a long, twangy sound. Kind of reminds me of Peppy's voice.

"The Slender Man?" I glance back at the door. I keep thinking I'll see that white not-face peering at us through the door, but he's not there. Anyway, I look back at the ape and continue. "He's been following me ever since I got here. Why doesn't he come in here after us?"

The man glances at the entrance door as well. "He prefers going after people who're alone. Since there's two of us, I think we'll be safe for now."

"How do you know his name? And how do you know so much about him?"

"I know him very well." The man closes his eyes, and lets out a long sigh. "Listen. I don't know what to make of all the stuff I've gotten mixed up in since I got here. So I guess I'll start from the beginning. My name is John Holmes. You are?"

"James McCloud." I'm not sure how he would react to a pawshake, but I extend my paw out anyway.

John looks at me confused for a moment, but he decides to take my paw anyway. "James, huh?" He leans back in his chair, looking at nothing in particular. "This gets weirder and weirder. That's a name back on my home planet Earth."

"So that's where you came from?" I search my extensive memory of planets, systems, and galaxies, but I've never heard of any place called Earth.

John nods. "Yeah, St. Louis, Missouri."

I have no idea where that is. I decide I'll just ask about his planet. "Where's Earth? And why are you here?"

"To answer your first question, many, many light years from here in a place called the Solar System..." John trails off. He looks up at the ceiling, as if he is trying to stare all the way back home. "Secondly, I'm an astronaut on a long range exploration mission. Gotta say I never expected to see what I saw when I got here. It was like a freaking Planet of the Apes movie. I come to this planet, then I get flagged down by some monkeys in starships speaking English, and then they bring me here to this jailhouse."

"The Venomians. You're on the planet Venom in the Lylat System."

"So that's what you meant when you said Venomians."

He gives me an intense gaze, looking my face up and down, before spotting my fox tail poking out of the back of the chair. I'm not sure what to make of this. John's been relatively friendly so far, but I'm worried about why he's looking at me like that.

"Do you mind if I talk straight with you, sir?" John looks me in the eyes.

I don't know what he's about to say, but I nod to let him go ahead.

"Okay." He shakes his head. "So first these monkeys throw me in jail. But I guess I can deal with walking, talking monkeys. Humans aren't that different on the genetic level from chimpanzees. But you…" He grimaces in disgust. "I'm sorry. A fox's head and tail just don't belong on a man's body. You seem like a nice fella, but you look really goddamn creepy to me."

I should probably be angry, but this conversation feels so strange and I've got so many questions I forget to feel insulted. In any case, I just realized something. "You know I'm a fox, but you've never been to the Lylat System. How do you know what a fox is?"

In spite of the situation, John can't help but start chuckling. "Yeah I know what a fox is. They're supposed to walk on four legs and live in a hole in the ground in the forest. They're not supposed to be standing up, walking around, and acting like a human does."

My eyes widen behind the sunglasses. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"On Earth, all of the other animals…dogs, cats, alligators, lions, tigers, bears… Mostly they walk around on four legs and just do animal things out in the woods. You know, look for food, sleep, sex… They don't walk around, go to the shop or whatever, and talk." Suddenly John eyes pop open. "Don't tell me that all the other animals here are like you."

I'm speechless. I can't believe I'm talking to someone who thinks animals walking around and talking is a shocking concept. However, my silence gives John all the answer he needs.

"This is crazy." John shook his head. "Can't believe I'm not dreaming right now."

"I could say I've never seen anything like you either." I give John a closer look. "So you called yourself a human, before?"

John looks confused, as if I should have known that already. "Yeah. We're the dominant species on Earth. Nothing else on the planet is even close to us."

"It's weird. You could pass for a Venomian almost. If you had fur all over your body instead of just your head, you'd look just like one." I am actually interested in learning more about this human fellow, but there are more pressing matters right now. "Listen. Back to the Slender Man. What does the Slender Man want with us? What did we do to him?"

John goes silent. I get the feeling he doesn't want to talk about Slender Man. Still though, he lets out a long sigh. "We both know who the Slender Man is."

I wait for him to say more, but he doesn't mention anything else. I narrow my eyes. "…that's it? That's the only reason he's following us?"

John shook his head. "I would ask him but… I can't exactly sit down and talk with him." He laughs a little bit, but now it sounds like he's laughing so he doesn't cry instead. "It started a few years ago. I was driving one night alone, but then I got a flat tire. I was in the middle of nowhere, nothing but forest all around me. Couldn't get any phone reception. So I had to go walking down the road, until I could find a house or somewhere to get help. And then underneath a street light, I saw _him_ for the first time. Just a dark silhouette standing underneath that orange light. Of course, I thought he was just an ordinary human like me, since he was still far away and I couldn't tell how tall he was. But when I got closer, I started feeling this headache…" John sighs and shrugs. "I could keep talking but I think already you know how it went from there."

I do know how it went, and all too well. Still though, something gives me hope. "But you got away. Otherwise you wouldn't be here. How did you do it?"

"Getting away?" John sniffles, pushing away his tears. "You _never _get away from Slender Man."

Those words echo in my head. I can't speak for a moment. I still try to cling to my hope though. "What do you mean by that?"

"After that night on that lonely highway, I learned that Slender Man doesn't just take you the first chance he gets. It's not his style. I don't know if he does it for some kind of sick pleasure or what, but once he knows you, he follows you for years. I started seeing him a lot more after that. He'd watch me when I was driving alone at night, or when I took a walk by myself in the park. I think I've even seen him next to my bed a few times, while I'm trying to sleep." The man closes his eyes and sighs. "If you survive running into the Slender Man, it's only because he allows it."

"Is he going to do the same thing to me? Chase me for years?" I feel like a cold shroud is closing around me.

"Yeah, I think so." The man solemnly nods.

I close my eyes and shake my head. It can't be true. Being chased around for the past hour or so has already been hell. "Surely there's a way to get rid of him. There's got to be."

"Aside from death, I don't think there's anything you can do." John shakes his head, tears welling up in his eyes. "You see, I thought that since I'm an astronaut, maybe he wouldn't follow me if I went far away into space. So I volunteered for that long range space mission I mentioned before. I found Venom and descended below the cloud cover and looked around on the surface. I saw the desert, the mountains, the storms… And I saw the Slender Man. He was just standing there in the sand, looking right up at me."

Fullblown tears start rolling down his face. Now he's speaking through a crying fit.

"Nothing changed! He's still after me. All these light years…all this time alone in space. It means nothing to that monster. He probably could have taken me any time he wanted during my trip here. But no…no." John shook his head, before he sealed his eyes shut and buried his face in his hands. "He just had…had to twist the knife in a little bit further... Show me how absolutely nothing I do will change anything… If coming here won't get rid of him, then I don't fucking know what will."

It's a very shocking thing, seeing a grown man break down and cry like this. Men are trained from birth after all to never show weakness and always keep emotions in check. But the reason we cry is to release the chemicals in our body causing those strong emotions. They flow out through the tears. You always feel better after a good cry. I hold nothing against him for doing it, especially after that story.

I move my chair around the desk, sit down, and put an arm over John's shoulder, so as to comfort him. He might be an alien, but the Lylat System is full of all kinds of species. To me, this human is just one more new one. I would say that's the best thing about Lylatians. We look after each other, even though we're all different. I just sit there, letting John sob more until he's coherent again. I can understand how he feels, in a way. He's so far away from home and everyone he knows. I've had to experience that too because of my job, but if John's homeworld is somewhere even I've never heard of then he's come a very long way indeed.

If what he said about Slender Man is true though, will I eventually end up like this? I sure as hell hope not, but I feel better having John here with me. We're both in the same boat now, after all. I let him cry it out for a while. Eventually I let him go and settle back into my own chair.

"Listen, John. I know you've had a hard trip, but there's something I need to ask you."

John wipes his eyes to look at me, but otherwise I can't detect an emotion now.

"Your spaceship is still up there, in a hangar. I'm trying to get it working again. I've got one of its power cells with me." I pull out the hexagonal-shaped container from my pocket. "Someone's scattered them around the outpost."

John is still quiet. I feel hesitant to proceed, but do it anyway.

"I still need one more of these to get the ship moving. Do you think you could help me find it? We could both fly away and leave this place for good."

John stares blankly at the cell. I still don't know what he's thinking. But eventually, he sighs and shakes his head. "I could keep running, but what good would it do?"

I stare at him blankly. I can't believe he's saying something like that with escape so close. "Come on! Don't give up!"

John points a finger at me. "You say that now, but Slender Man hasn't been after you for very long yet. If you keep running long enough, you'll end up the same as me. Maybe you should just wait with me and spare yourself the years of agony."

"No way." I shake my head. "I didn't come this far to give up now. My son's waiting for me at home."

"Your son?" John looks like he wants to cry again, but he's out of tears to shed now. "I had to move away from my wife and son when Slender Man started chasing me. I couldn't tell them where I was going. No addresses. No phone numbers. Nothing. I didn't want to do it, but it was for their own good. It was the only way to protect them from him. If you want your son to be safe…you'll have to do the same thing I did."

"No…that can't be true." I feel as though I've been stabbed in the heart. Now it's my turn to shed some tears. "Fox… I don't know how I can live without my boy. I've only got my little boy and he's only got me. He'll have to grow up parentless."

"If you really love him, then you have to leave him alone."

"Don't say that!" The tears are rolling down my cheeks. "I can't let him grow up alone!"

"I'm sorry. And what hurts me the most is that it's my fault. If I hadn't come here, Slender Man wouldn't have started chasing you." He points a finger at my blaster. "If it makes you feel better, feel free to put me out of my misery. I would do it myself, but suicide is a terrible sin. I'd at least like to go to heaven once this is all done and overwith."

I wipe my tears away. "I'm not going to kill a defenseless man. Besides, you brought Slender Man by accident."

"Are you absolutely sure you want to keep running? You know what you're in for now if you decide to go on living." With the way John says it, you'd think he was asking if I wanted to go to hell.

"'Never give up. Trust your instincts.' I tell myself, my friend Peppy, and my son Fox those words over and over again. I don't think I'm going to stop following those words now."

"Okay then." John opens a small drawer in the workstation and tosses something to me.

I catch it in my paw. To my surprise, it's the final power cell. I consider asking him about it, but it's honestly not important. I can leave Venom now.

"Do you know how my ship works?" John asks.

"I've flown spaceships for nearly twenty-five years." I give him a weak smile. "I think I can figure it out. All you have to do is put the power cells in to start it back up?"

John nods. "It will work, if it's in the shape I last saw it in."

I really hate the idea of just leaving John to his fate, so I decide I'm going to ask him one more time. "Are you sure you want me to leave you behind? There's nothing else at this outpost. You'll be left all alone here with no way to leave. Besides, you said it yourself. If we stay together, Slender Man won't attack us."

John shakes his head. "No, I said he _prefers_ going after people who are alone, and that we're safe _for now_. They're preferences, not rules. Eventually he's going to take both of us anyway, no matter what we do. Besides, I'm tired of running..." Again, John gets that far-off look in his eyes, as if trying to stare all the way back home. "I wish I could have died back on Earth, but life just wasn't that kind to me I suppose."

Sighing, I let my shoulders sag. It's just such a shame, but I can't force him to come with me if he doesn't want to. "Okay then, John. Look after yourself." I offer my paw for a pawshake one more time.

This time, John takes it without hesitation, but his face still has that stern look in his eyes. "Remember what I've said James. No talking to anyone you care about. Goodbye."

And with that he walks into the cell block, closing the barred door behind himself. I hear him take a few steps and then lay down on a cot. Even though he said he was totally sure about staying behind, I can't help but stare at this iron door, wondering if I should ask him again.

Even if Slender Man weren't after us, would John be able to fit into Lylatian society? I do believe Lylatians embrace diversity since we are made up of so many species, but I don't know if that would extend to a completely new species from a faraway system. Would John himself be able to deal with it? He had a hard enough time accepting my mere existence. I can't imagine what he would do once he sees Corneria City and hordes of cats, dogs, otters, and whatever else running all over the place. In the end, I suppose it's best if I heed John's wishes and just let him go.

"Goodbye, John," I say with one last farewell.

John doesn't reply. I remove the bar from the entrance door to the cell block, and very carefully open it with my blaster pointed out first. No one's there. I wave the blaster back and forth down the hallway. Nobody. If I recall, I came down the hallway from the right, so I head in that direction. There should be a barred door…and there is. So far my memory is on track. I just hope I can remember the rest of the route I took. This place is pitch black and Slender Man could show up at any second.

However, I make my way back to the signpost I saw earlier without incident, and then to the exit doorway. Quickly throwing the bar off the entrance door, I slowly pull it open again with the blaster first like I've been doing. Again, Slender Man is not there. Where is he? I'm feeling awful tense right now. He hasn't shown up since before I ran into John. In any case, I quickly jog across the sandy blacktop to the hangar and I'm soon inside.

Now it's time to get the hangar doors open. I'll have to do it manually since the electricity to this place is down. After unlatching them from the inside, I push hard on one of the doors. It feels like it only moves a few inches in as many seconds if I put all of my back into it, so I have to take a break or two whilst opening them. Again though, Slender Man still isn't showing up. Why hasn't he come out yet? While John mentioned that Slender Man isn't operating on the same plane of morality, intelligence, or logic like we are, I get the feeling he must be waiting for a very sinister reason. Why though, I can't fathom it. Eventually I manage to get both of them opened. I stand there for a second, catching my breath.

One of my pointed ears rotates towards the open bunker door. I can vaguely hear something coming from inside. I turn my head to look, concentrating very hard to listen for the sound. Is it just me or do I hear the echo of…screams? Is that John? I immediately start walking back towards the bunker, but stop in my tracks. If he's screaming, it's already too late. Slender Man must have got him. I suddenly realize this is why Slender Man is leaving me alone. He's finally got John. And I'll be next if I don't hurry up and get out of here.

I jump inside John's starship and slam the last powercell home. As I do, the ship begins to hum to life. It's good to see the ship running again, but Slender Man's pursuit has put me into a panic. I quickly rush to the cockpit and buckle in. It takes me a relatively long time to get the ship started between having to adapt to the controls and always looking around to make sure Slender Man hasn't popped up anywhere. Still though, now the ship is pleasantly rumbling from the engines working in the back. I adjust the throttle and the stick, and the ship begins to roll forward out onto the landing pad. Within another couple minutes, I am airborne. I point the ship up into the clouded, stormy sky and put the thrusters on full throttle. Now I'm rocketing far, far away from this godforsaken rock and onto safety.

I should be excited, but this feels like a hollow victory. Now that I'm leaving Venom behind, I actually have time to slow down and think about the ramifications of this decision. If John is right it won't matter where I go. Slender Man will be there waiting for me. I can't ever speak to Fox or my friends again or Slender Man will take them too. So what if I escape Venom? If I don't want to spread Slender Man to anyone else, I'll have to live like a hermit and die alone. It would barely feel like existing, let alone living. Is this really what the rest of my life will be like now?

A couple hours ago, I would never have believed I would be doing this, but I push the flightstick forward and descend back down to Venom's surface. I scan the wastes around me, looking for something. But it's nothing but sand and the occasional rock formation down below. I come to a more mountainous location, with jagged brown peaks jutting up into the sky. I guide my ship through the valleys, wondering if this is what hell might look like. Unforgiving rocky terrain, unending storms with lighting flashing all around, sandstorms whipping up grit so hard you can't see… All that's missing is the fire and lava.

However, something catches my eye. I see a dark blotch on the west side of one of the mountain faces, and guide the ship towards it. As I get closer, I engage my aircraft lights. The lights show a deep tunnel big enough for this spacecraft to fit inside. Perfect. After carefully guiding the ship inside, I disengage the engines and step outside to have a look around. While the entrance is big enough for the ship, the tunnel gets smaller and goes deeper into the mountain. I pass through a number of decently-sized chambers. This also meets with my approval.

It's the perfect place to set up a camp. If I can't go back to Corneria anymore, then I think I'll stay on Venom and fight until I die or Slender Man takes me. At least then what little time I have left will be put to a good cause. Maybe Slender Man will even start to haunt the Venomian army while I do it. I just need to get settled in and acquire things to begin my guerilla campaign.


	4. Chapter 4 - Solitary

Chapter 4 – Solitary

A couple days pass. I've spent that time mapping out the cave system I'm residing in now. It turns out that the cave I've landed in goes all the way to the other side of the mountain. From the eastern entrance, there's a small ledge that offers a view of a sandy valley far below. I sit on the edge of the cliff, as I chew on a protein bar. I eat very slowly, picking the last bit out of the wrapper and gulping it down, before tossing the wrapper over the edge. That's all I've eaten today and its afternoon now. The shuttle didn't have as much in the way of supplies that I thought it would, so I have to conserve what little food I have. At least the shuttle provides comfortable shelter for sleeping though. But somehow I'm going to need to get more food, water, and weapons soon. I'm reluctant to fly the shuttle around, because it's unarmed and it would stick out like a sore thumb with its white paint job. There's nowhere I could walk to around here though.

I hold up a gold ring in my hands. I found it inside one of the compartments in the shuttle's living area while I was taking inventory. It looks like a wedding ring, so is that what it is? I did find John's wallet in the same drawer and it had a picture of his family, so it's not a stretch to assume that's what the ring is for. I think I can imagine how he felt looking at the ring and this picture of his family. If he hadn't decided to stay behind, I think we could have been good friends. I really wish I had the company now.

I hold up my left paw. On the ring finger there is my very own wedding ring, from my marriage with Vixy. I compare it with John's ring. We might be from completely different worlds, but it looks like John and I did have a few things in common at least. We've both been separated from loved ones, and not by choice. John had to leave Earth to save his family from Slender Man, and Vixy… Oh Vixy…

It's been several years now since her death, but sometimes I still can't help shedding a tear at the memories of my late wife. Back then Andross still lived on Corneria and he even worked for the Cornerian Defense Force, but he was just as insane then as he is now. He developed weapons of war for the military, and we all learned later that he often ignored safety protocols in the pursuit of faster results. That would end up being deadly for thousands of innocent civilians. His lab used to be in Sapphire City, a smaller town about an hour's drive from Corneria City. The family and I liked to go to Sapphire when we wanted to take a break from Corneria City, since Sapphire sat on the edge of this gorgeous lake. Or at least it used to be gorgeous...

There was this new type of bomb that Andross was developing for the military. He apparently made a mistake one day, and set off a chain reaction in the bomb that would detonate it prematurely. Instead of trying to stop the bomb, the bastard just jumped in his personal ship and flew out of the city to save his own skin. He didn't even bother telling the authorities what happened until he was already safe and the bomb had gone off. Vixy happened to be in town that day on a shopping trip… Once the authorities confirmed she was in the blast radius, there was no point looking for remains. The entire city's nothing but a crater now, filled with the water that used to be in the lake.

Andross went to trial shortly thereafter in a military court. I joined thousands of people, all of us relatives of those who died in the Sapphire City Incident, and collectively we screamed, rallied, and lobbied for Andross to be executed. But Corneria doesn't use the death penalty anymore. They banished him to Venom instead, arguing that it was basically the same thing. Well, I bet the Cornerian government's going to wish they'd just given him the lethal injection now. With the military power Andross has now, I don't think it'll be long before he invades the Lylat System, assuming he hasn't done that already.

A lot of good I did trying to stop him. I took the job to come to Venom because I wanted to make sure Andross was dead, but look where I am now because of that decision. I never should have come here, but I can't take back my choices now. All I can do is keep trying to make the best of what's been given to me.

I look at John's ring one more time. I just wish he'd come with me, but he looked so exhausted and traumatized by what he went through with Slender Man. I suppose I can't be too hard on John for just quitting after dealing with years of that. What frightens me is his warning that I'll end up just like that one day. I pray it doesn't end up being true. I think grimly that maybe I'll be able to handle it 'better' since I've already gone through feelings like this when Vixy died. That thought doesn't make me feel happy though. I slip John's ring into my pocket, since I've decided I'm going to keep it in his memory. Somebody needs to remember him. He deserves at least that. If only I had a way to tell his family back on Earth what happened to him.

All of my current thoughts leave my mind when I spot a dust cloud rising up from the desert valley's floor. I pull out my blaster rifle and adjust the scope's zoom to maximum. It looks like a brown speck from here, but I can just make out the outline of a big 6x6 supply truck travelling alone. I do need supplies, and that truck is a tempting target. Plus, I don't think anyone knows I'm up here. Aside from the occasional fly-by of a Venomian fighter I haven't seen any other activity. So I decide that I'll head down to the road tonight. The next time a truck rolls by, I'll jack it and take whatever I can find inside. Even if there's nothing in the truck, at least it'll help distract me from these thoughts I've been having. I need to keep busy or I'm going to go crazy.

Several hours later, I make it to the roadway I spotted from the mountain. I'm hiding in a muddy ditch beside the road. The darkness makes me think of Slender Man. He hasn't appeared since I left the outpost behind. Why is that? John's almost certainly dead now, so Slender Man doesn't have any other prey left on Venom besides me. Is he leaving me alone because I won his "game" and he's rewarding me by giving me a reprieve? John did mention Slender Man was OK with waiting years before he takes you.

I see headlights twinkling off in the distance. They're moving this way, so I get settled into my hiding place and wait. After a few minutes the lights get close and now I see the rectangle-shaped outline of the truck. The rough terrain forces the driver to move at about the same pace as I can jog. This is just what I need. As it passes by, I quickly jump onto the step beneath the driver's side door. Holding onto the mirror for support, I use my other to wave my blaster pistol at the window.

"Stop the truck!"

A chimpanzee in a silver coat and green fatigues looks back at me in fright and quickly slams on the brakes. He starts to raise his hands, but I shoot him in the face. He collapses backwards onto the passenger's seat, the top of his head smoking and black. Without wasting any time, I drag the body out of the cab and dump it beside the road. I'm not phased at all by the gore. I've seen lots of dead bodies in my time, and this is just one more. Besides, any Venomian who crosses my path deserves whatever he gets.

I'm about to check the cargo when I notice something peculiar about the monkey I just shot. He's wearing a very familiar silver coat, and it's too big for his body. In fact the bottom of the coat goes to his knees. I shine a flashlight on the coat to take a closer look. Aside from the coat being huge, it looks exactly the same as the jacket I'm wearing right now. As I move aside one of the flaps, I see the word "Pigma Dengar" written above the Star Fox emblem. What the hell?

I don't know what to think, as I stand there looking at that traitorous bastard's name. Shaking my head, I decide I'll worry about it after I've had a look at my cargo. Maybe it can explain the jacket. I run around the back and raise the flap up, waving my blaster rifle inside. While the coat was an interesting find, what's in the truck is not. I see nothing but lots and lots of old scrap metal, broken down into neatly cut bars for transportation. So the primate I just killed must have come from a scrapyard. Why would he have Pigma's jacket?

I stare down the road the truck came from. While I should probably stay hidden until I can secure more supplies, I can't help being curious. I need to know where this jacket came from. After I've hidden the body inside a nearby culvert, I turn the truck around and start driving the other way. I probably could have taken that monkey's clothes as a disguise, but it wouldn't have done much good. There's no hiding my fox face and tail after all. I'll just have to pray that no one takes a close look at me while I'm driving. It's night time though, so I can probably get away without anyone being able to see into the cab for a while.

The journey is uneventful. More desert and mountains rolls by on either side. I keep bouncing up and down against the truck's hard seat, since this road isn't much better than simply driving overland. Potholes and ruts mark the dusty passage through the sand and rock, although the 6x6 at least has no problem with continually marching forwards. I pass through a narrow canyon with rock walls towering over me on either side. The canyon's bottom isn't much wider than the road itself in some places. As I turn the corner, the passageway widens out and I see a huge building complex in front of me. It's pretty much impossible to miss since it's the only thing in sight that's got electric lights. I see piles and piles of scrap metal surrounding a building that looks like a processing center. Clearly, I have found where this truck last stopped. But that doesn't answer why that monkey had Pigma's jacket. I need to get over there and look for clues.

After hiding the truck behind some large rocks, I make my way towards the scrapyard under cover of darkness. It doesn't take long to make it there. There's little need to hide, since the scrapyard appears to be unguarded. It doesn't even have a fence. Soon I'm walking amongst the rusting corpses of old trucks, tanks, and spaceships. Cranes pick up random chunks of metal and drop them in compactors, while bulldozers shove around other bits of scrap. None of the vehicles have cockpits, so I guess they're all being run by AIs.

None of this tells me why that random soldier had Pigma's jacket though. I decide that I'm about to head for the factory-looking building in the middle of the complex, but then something catches my eye. I see a very familiar silver-painted, conical-shaped hunk of metal sticking out of the top of a pile of metal.

"No way…"

I scramble up the pile of twisted metal, not caring about the cuts and scrapes I'm getting as I climb over the refuse. Before long I'm standing atop the heap, and sitting right there is something I never expected to see again. It's an Arwing. It may have some scrapes and dents from being hauled up here, but otherwise it looks airworthy. The cockpit is slightly ajar, so I rush over and push it open by hand. I recoil backwards away from the pilot's seat due to a noxious smell. I know that stench. That's Pigma's body odor. He never did clean himself up properly, no matter how many times I told him to do it. All of his clothes and possessions have that nasty sweat smell on them. His Arwing's no exception. When I walk back over, I can still see sweat stains where his back and rear end touched the seat!

But at least this solves the mystery. I guess since Pigma's not with Star Fox anymore, he decided to just throw away his jacket and Arwing. Putting up with the smell, I start drumming my fingers next to the open cockpit. So…what do I do now? Should I take it? At least compared to the shuttle, this thing is armed. But it's not like I can just fly around and start blowing things up. If I do that, I'll just end up right back where this whole nightmare started: getting swarmed and shot down by Andross' army. I don't think Andross will be stupid enough to let me escape a second time.

Of course, taking this Arwing assumes that it's even still working, so I hop inside and have a look at the controls. All of the controls are lightly covered with grease from Pigma's fingers, but it looks mechanically sound at least. I push a button next to the ship's main monitor, and it immediately flickers on. After running a diagnostic check on all the major systems, most of the metrics are in the green. Some of the lights are yellow, but it's nothing crippling. I can take off right now if I want.

I'm about to do that, but then I bump my leg into a cable that I know shouldn't be underneath the Arwing's console. Frowning, I look down beneath the controls and notice a black wire leading to an unfamiliar black box bolted to the side of the footwell. A red light on the box blinks on and off. I promptly retract my legs, wondering if it's some kind of bomb.

But then I take a second look. The cables running out of the black box look like they're patched into the communications system, based on what I know about the Arwing's architecture. And the box looks like a part I've seen before. In fact, I think it's come out of a radio or something like that. Specifically, it's the part for decrypting and encrypting secure transmissions. I know all of this because my debts on the Great Fox mean I can't afford to hire a mechanic. Everyone in Star Fox does maintenance on their own ships. I always thought that was the bane of my existence, but it might have just saved my life now. So, why did Pigma jury-rig this mysterious part into his Arwing? After pushing a few buttons, I start to pick up Venomian transmissions. Lots of them. I'm hearing things on encrypted Venomian frequencies that I normally wouldn't be able to crack. Pigma must have put this in here so that he could secretly communicate with Andross.

I'm about to turn it back off again when something catches me by surprise.

"The Star Fox team is here! Repeat, the Star Fox team is here! They've just blasted their way through Area 6 and they're on their way to the surface!"

"What the hell…?" I change the comms back to Star Fox's standard frequency. If that caught me by surprise, then the next thing completely floors me.

"Say your prayers, Andross!"

My jaw drops. That's my son! He's leading Star Fox into battle! I thought he was still in school! What the hell is he doing out here? Who else is with him? I flip on the radar and set it to the longest range possible. I'm picking up the Great Fox in orbit, with four Arwings skimming the planet's surface. They're marked Fox, Falco, Peppy, and Slippy. I never knew those kids had it in them. Sure, they're all good pilots but they're so young. Fox and Slippy are only eighteen, Falco is only nineteen, and Peppy… He may be the most experienced by a long margin, but he also must have only just got back to Corneria in time to turn around and come back here. I've got to get out there!

Without another word, I start pounding the buttons in the cockpit to start the Arwing up, praying that it's still intact enough to fly. It shudders a little bit breaking loose from its spot on top of the scrap metal, but otherwise seems to be taking off nicely. Meanwhile, more chatter comes out of the comms link.

"Don't get too cocky, Star Fox!" A gray wolf's face comes up on the comm screen. He's wearing an eyepatch and a leather jacket. I recognize him from earlier. Whoever he was, he was leading Andross's forces when Pigma betrayed us.

"Let's see how you handle our new ships." A chameleon's face comes up on the comm screen. I don't recognize him, but the next speaker I know all too well.

"Too bad Dad's not here to see ya fail!" Pigma's ugly mug is on the comm screen. My grip tightens around the flight stick. Screw this Slender Man bullshit. I'm going out there and I'm going to shoot that traitor down.

I engage the afterburners and push them as hard as I can, rocketing over the hellish landscape below. The wings fold back for minimal aerodynamic drag, granting me extra speed. But as I check the map, I see that I probably won't get there until the fight's already over. It's Fox's ships versus four other fighters, so the fighting will probably be over in a few minutes. I'm at least half an hour away even going at top speed like this. Meanwhile, more radio chatter comes over the comms.

"We'll make sure you never reach Andross!"

"We'll just see about that, Star Wolf!"

What an original name. Anyway, I smile a little bit as I hear my son's confident voice. He's a way better pilot than I was at eighteen years old. But I get the feeling Fox will need my help. He might have lots of raw natural talent, but he's still just a kid and lacks the experience that I do. He is about to face Andross head on, after all. Who knows what could happen?

As I get closer, I notice that Fox and his crew seem to be getting in some kills.

"He's too strong!" The chameleon's face fades into static.

"This can't be happening!" Pigma screams over the monitor, before he too is obscured by static.

"Serves you right, you traitorous hog." My only regret is that I didn't get to kill Pigma myself.

Fox's face flashes on the comm screen next. "There's one more to go!"

"Get him Fox!" I lean in closer to the radar screen, urging him on.

If I've been keeping track correctly from the voices, the last one left is that wolf. I watch on the radar as Fox jumps in right behind the black dot. A few seconds later, the black blip vanishes from the screen.

"No way! I don't believe it!" Explosion, static. They're all dead now.

"He did it…" I sigh as I lay back in my chair, wiping a paw across my forehead. Way to go Fox. If only I could have been there with you. I check my watch. His squadron did that in under two minutes. That's amazing. I should have brought Fox with me instead of Pigma for the recon mission.

"I'll go it alone from here!"

Wait, what? My eyes pop open as I look at the radar. Fox's ship is headed straight for a tunnel-like structure built into the ground. The yellow blip vanishes from radar. What the hell is that kid thinking? I _knew_ he was going to make a dumb mistake at some point. He's going straight into Andross's lair all by himself! Who knows what the hell the doctor's got waiting down there? I don't care what John said. Better that we kill Andross and live compared to dying, even if we get the Slender Man curse. But how do I get down into the tunnels without being seen? I can't go the same way Fox did, or his friends would see me.

I scan the rocky ridges flying past, when I spot a similar structure to the one I saw on radar. It's basically a giant metallic dome, although there's a big hole in the middle large enough for the Arwing to fly into. Since Fox flew down a different one, I'm guessing there's a network of these tunnels down there. I hope I can find wherever Fox went to and catch up with him. Taking a deep breath, I push the stick forward and dive straight into the hole.

It's pitch black inside, so I turn on the Arwing's forward lights and illuminate the passageway in front of me. A hexagonal-shaped tunnel glides past, made of rusty metallic walls. Not exactly what I was expecting, but I push onwards. A new transmission interrupts my thoughts, this one from Andross himself.

"I've been waiting for you Star Fox! You know that I control the galaxy! It's foolish to come against me. Now you will feel _true_ pain."

Pigma's little jury-rigged device indicates that the transmission is for Fox's ship, not mine. I'm just listening in discreetly. So Andross doesn't know I'm down here. Even better, Pigma's device shows me the area where the radio transmission is coming from. It places a big circle on my radar, indicating roughly where the signal is coming from. These tunnels might be a maze, but now I can follow the signal to where the doctor is waiting. I just have to hope I get there before Fox gets killed. After a few minutes I'm about to make it to the big circle on the map. I turn the corner, but then slam on my air brakes. The Arwing comes to a halt in midair, with VTOL jets igniting underneath to keep me in a hover.

"Goddamn it."

There's a big metallic door blocking my way. I can hear explosions and laser fire from the other side. Growling, I back the ship up to the last tunnel junction and fire off a smart bomb. A blinding light fills the tunnel, which my sunglasses fortunately protect my eyes from. But when the light fades away, the door is still standing. I can barely tell I've done anything to it.

"Only I have the brains to rule Lylat!" Andross bellows over the radio.

"So Andross…you show your true form!" My son shouts back, still sounding as overconfident as ever.

I've got no idea what my son means by "true form", but I've got to get in there somehow. The bomb didn't work, so I doubt what I'm about to try next will work either. Still, I've got to give it a shot. This is my son that's in danger. I start charging up plasma shots and blasting them at the door, hammering it over and over again. I can't tell if I'm doing anything at all to the barricade.

"If I go down I'm taking you with me!" Andross screams with rage.

"What the-"

A massive explosion rocks the entire tunnel complex, raining down girders and debris from the ceiling. I juke the Arwing left and right with the VTOL jets, barely avoiding being smashed in the process. The giant door explodes off of its hinges towards me, clattering to the floor. A tongue of flame lashes out, nearly engulfing the Arwing as I juke downwards to avoid it. Nonetheless, I'm not really paying attention to that. Into the inferno I fly, desperately searching for any trace of Fox. But there's nothing in there. Nothing except for the light and heat of a thousand suns. There's no way I could look at it if I didn't have my sunglasses on. Despite the heat and light pressing hard against my face, I continue staring into it, looking for any trace of my son.

There! I see a solitary black dot, highlighted by the white-hot flames. As I get closer, the silhouette's shape develops into that of an Arwing. I fear for the worst, but I've just got to check. Tenderly, I tune the radio in to the Arwing's frequency and press the transmit button.

"Fox! Fox! Are you okay?"

No answer.

"Fooooox!"

I fiddle around with the radio controls a little bit more. Maybe I made a mistake on the frequency. The next thing I'm saying almost as much for myself, as I am for him.

"Don't ever give up my son."

Silence for a moment. I'm about to give up when-

"Father?!"

Oh my god. It worked! But there's no time to celebrate. The bright light is fading, and now I can see the ceiling high above collapsing inwards. We'll be buried alive if we don't get out of here in a couple of minutes. Immediately I turn my ship around towards the exit.

"Follow me, Fox."

I rocket off into the tunnel I just used to get inside. Glancing in my rearview mirrors, I see that Fox appears to be following. But a wall of fire is chasing us too. Not to mention Fox is in trouble. One of his wings is broken, and his Arwing drunkenly lists right and left, nearly brushing against the tunnel walls. But I can still see the skill shining through. He's keeping pace with me, even though I've got my boost on full throttle. Very good. This will be the ultimate test of his flying skill. Neither of us can afford to slow down. A tunnel juncture approaches. I hope I can remember the route I used to get down here. If I recall, the first turn will be to the right.

"This way, Fox."

I turn the ship into the right juncture, still glancing behind me constantly to see how Fox is doing. Fox is coming in too fast. He's going to hit the outer wall. At the last second, he pulls his Arwing vertically and his belly scrapes along the metal, leaving behind flying sparks. But he's still flying. I decide to offer some encouragement.

"Never give up. Trust your instincts."

Fox doesn't say anything back, but I don't blame him. He's probably too busy running for his life to say anything. But I think what I said gave him the encouragement he needed. Left, right, and right again we go through the tunnel junctures. He doesn't crash again after that first time. We're going to make it. I hate to think what could have happened if I wasn't here to guide him out.

"You've become so strong, Fox."

We're close to the exit now. The tunnel narrows severely here, squeezing the fire and pressure behind us tightly and making it rush faster still. The explosion starts to swallow up Fox's Arwing behind me. But I can see light just up ahead. We're almost out.

"Just a little further… Please Fox. Just a little further…" I whisper to myself.

I can't see him in the smoke and fire anymore, but I've managed to clear the tunnel exit. A blast ignites from the hole I just came out of, spilling out into all directions and making a terrific light. But I can't see Fox. I right my ship to get it level with the planet's surface. Quickly I search through the flames and debris. There's no sign of him. No, there he is! I can see him flying higher and higher, up into space. My son's made it! We've done it!

I turn the ship around to follow Fox…only to realize that I can't. Slender Man is still with me. Tears roll out from underneath my sunglasses, as I watch Fox fly up and up and leave me behind. It's a very bittersweet moment. Meanwhile I can hear the congratulations and cheers over the radio.

"Fox! You're okay!" Peppy cries out.

"Way to go Fox!" Slippy cheers.

"That's our leader!" I hear Falco say.

I want to be up there with them. I really do. But I can't. I just can't. I raise up my sunglasses so that I can rub the tears away.

Peppy says something that snaps me to attention. "What's wrong Fox?"

What does he mean? Is Fox okay? I sit still in the cockpit, not breathing as I wait for the reply.

"Nothing… Nothing's wrong." Fox quietly says.

I'm not sure what to make of that. Did he think I was a ghost or something? It breaks my heart that I can't let everyone know I'm still alive, but it's best this way. Slender Man won't spread to anyone else.

Speaking of the devil… I scan my eyes across the wastelands, as my ship hovers in place. There he is. Surrounding the tunnel me and Fox came out of, I see obelisks with Andross' looming face on them. They're quite frightening in the darkness, but they're no match for the sight of Slender Man standing on top of one of them, looking directly at me. Reminding me of what my ultimate fate will be. I look away, back up towards the Great Fox and the Arwings. Does Slender Man actually have a heart, or was it just coincidence that he stopped the hunt until I saved Fox? Like many things about him, I suppose I'll never know.

I look at the ring on my finger. _Well Vixy, _I think. _Andross is dead now and our son's still alive. At least he'll get to carry on the family name for us._

As for myself, what am I going to do now? I pull out John's ring, looking at it side by side with my own again. It sounds crazy, but I wonder if I should actually try telling his family about what happened to him. I pull out the wallet I took from the shuttle as well. It's got identifying documents like health insurance cards and a driver's license. They have addresses, phone numbers, and everything. I might be able to use the information to find his family, if I can get to Earth. It's not like I can go home to Corneria or talk to anyone I know, so there's not much left for me here in Lylat. And with Slender Man after me, it's not like there's much point trying to settle down somewhere. According to John I've only got a few more years left in my life if that, so I think I better use the time I've got left for whatever I really want to do before I die.

Eventually I just shrug and wrap my hand back around the stick, guiding the Arwing out of Venom's atmosphere. Going to Earth does sound like a crazy idea, and I don't know if I'll actually go through with it. I guess for now, I'll just find a hotel somewhere, get completely smashed, and sleep for a couple days. Maybe I'll feel better afterwards, and then I'll be ready to decide what I'm going to do. After all…

"It gets darkest…just before dawn." I take one last look as the new Star Fox team departs for Corneria. "Good luck son. Remember me."

I rocket off for parts unknown, leaving Venom behind for good.

~FIN~

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><p>AN: Thanks for reading if you came this far, and thank you to my beta readers Order and Chaos, General Whitefur, and TheMedic501. You all helped encourage me to finish my first fic since 2007. I know that crossovers and the horror genre aren't popular fics around here, so please recommend this story to your friends if you enjoyed it at all.

Just for fun, let me discuss how this fic would have ended up if I would have written it as a pure Star Fox fic. I would have preferred this version of the story for a number of reasons (more reviews, this story is almost a pure Star Fox fic already, etc.) but like I said, I was tired of this story being incomplete and I was ready to move onto other things:

Instead of finding the outpost with the human ship, James would find the temple from Star Fox 64's Venom 1 path, where you fight the giant stone golem. He would discover a ship full of archaeological artifacts and tools, and as he explores the temple for power cells he would discover that Venomian archaeologists were studying the ruins. However, all of the archaeologists would be dead except for one scientist. This scientist would take John's role in explaining what's going on. Instead of Slender Man, he would mention that the ruins are infested with scouts from the Aparoid Empire. James would end up getting infected by them, and thus doomed to become an Aparoid himself. He would still escape the temple, and the rest of the story would play out as you saw it. The only change would be that James has a different reason for not going home with Fox.

Once again, thank you all for reading and I'm hoping that I'll be able to put out more work in the future, now that I've broken my seven year hiatus.


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